2/18/2010 @ 6:00AM

Microsoft's Mobile Makeover

Since its debut Monday
Microsoft
‘s new mobile software–the Windows Phone 7 Series — has elicited unexpected praise from analysts and reporters. Developers, however, have been offering up more modest accolades–as well as some criticisms. As mobile applications become a major reason consumers purchase certain phones, developer support will be key to Microsoft’s comeback plan.

At issue: The new look and navigation of the software, known as WP7 for short. In an attempt to “deliver fantastic integrated experiences to consumers,”
Microsoft
overhauled its legacy Windows Mobile software to include a home screen full of “live tiles,” a user experience centered on services “hubs” and integration with cloud services. The tweaks are designed to make Windows phones easier to use and more dynamic with additional social networking, music and gaming features.

Analysts are generally bullish on the changes. WP7 is “a big step forward in Microsoft’s bid to regain relevance in the competitive smart phone market,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza in a Feb. 16 research note. “The new [user interface] replaces formerly busy Windows Mobile transitions for simplicity and usability.”
UBS
analyst Brent Thill called WP7 a “home run” in a report, noting the press elevated Microsoft to “strong contender status” in the “mobile phone operating system wars” after the announcement.

For developers, the elegant makeover means additional work because WP7 appears to be incompatible with current Windows Mobile applications. “Everything looks different … it’s difficult to see how existing applications will fit into the new framework,” says Anthony Wieser, who runs Wieser Software in the U.K. Wieser has several Windows Mobile 6.5 applications in development but says he will cease working on them until he learns more about WP7.

Charlie Jorgen, a principal developer with Trinket Software in Seattle, says he will have to rewrite his existing Windows Mobile applications, which include the popular Twikini Twitter app. “I’m surprised there won’t be compatibility and concerned about the rework we’ll have to do,” he says.

Microsoft isn’t sharing details about the WP7 Series development platform until its MIX Web developer conference in mid-March. “You can expect much more information about the developer tools and opportunity to come at MIX,” said Microsoft senior marketing manager Liz Sloan in an e-mail to Forbes. But developers say photos and videos from a presentation Microsoft executives, including Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, gave at the Mobile World Congress trade show Monday clearly point to a different application framework for WP7.

Windows Phone development may become more Web-centric than in the past, for instance. IDC analyst Al Hilwa thinks Microsoft is using MIX to reveal its WP7 developer strategy because it plans to emphasize Web development tools. “MIX has traditionally focused on running [Microsoft's software framework] .net in a browser … which is not the current style of developing for Windows Mobile,” says Hilwa.

Another broad developer concern is how strict Microsoft will be regarding WP7 development. That includes whether WP7 will allow multiple applications–particularly non-Microsoft applications–to run at the same time. Such multitasking was permitted on previous versions of Windows Mobile, but seems to have been altered for WP7, possibly to make the software operate more quickly. A change could impair applications that require constant Web connections, such as location-based services and Twitter applications.

Developers also suspect Microsoft will promote its online application store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, more aggressively once WP7 phones go on sale later this year. Currently developers are free to sell Windows Mobile applications on their own Web sites or in independent app stores. Jorgen says he doesn’t mind if Microsoft consolidates app stores, as long as the company steps up marketing and promotion to increase consumer awareness of the marketplace.

Even with the extra work Windows Mobile developers generally approve of the WP7 changes. They note that competition from
Apple
,
Google
and
Research In Motion
forced Microsoft to take dramatic action. Between January and December 2009, Windows Mobile slipped from 8% of overall smart phone traffic to just 2%, according to mobile analytics firm AdMob.

“All these changes are fundamental [for Microsoft] to regain market share and hopefully be leaders in the space,” says Mark Arteaga, a mobile solutions specialist with software consultancy RedBit Development. Adds Jorgen, “If this means more customers and happier customers, we are happy to rewrite our apps.”